Proud of you
by Indochine
Summary: Written for Dr. Gabriel Cunningham. Even when you're a grumpy old geezer like Jacob Tillman, there's always someone here for you who loves you more than anyone else. And for Tillman, this person is Vesper. That's why family is important.


**Hi guys, it's been a while. Here I am again with a story for Dr. Gabriel Cunningham who asked me to write a story about Tillman and his granddaughter (a character s/he created by her/himself). The prompt was to show that Vesper, Tillman's granddaughter, shares a special bond with her grandfather. **

**Vesper is also Darnell Seller's daughter. If you're interested, go on DeviantArt, there are a lot of pretty drawings! :)**

**Thank you to risefromgrace16, as always, who corrected all my mistakes! :)**

**DISCLAIMER: All the characters in this story belong to ATLUS, except for Vesper Sellers who belongs to Dr. Gabriel Cunningham.**

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><p><strong>Proud of you<strong>

_" Are you sure you want to go with me? "_

"_I've told you already, didn't I? Yes I do! It's important for you so I want to be here…!"_

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOOX**

Even though the day had begun well, it turned out to be a total mess.

Now the young lady was curled on her chair, waiting and waiting. The operation had started two hours ago, but it seemed for her that those hours were the longest of her life. "Please…" she said, prying. "Please, he has to be alright…!"

As if to answer her prayers, a door opened and a man exited the room that was behind. "Miss…Vesper Sellers?"

The young woman looked up, tiredness in her eyes and worry written all over her face. "Yes, it is I. How is he?"

The man was supposedly the surgeon who operated on her grandfather, he had red eyes and brown hair and he seemed to be young even if older than her. "The operation is a complete success, we've extracted the bullet. He'll need time to recover but he'll be fine." He stopped for a moment before adding, "Do you want to see him?"

Vesper wasn't one to cry in front of strangers even in such dramatic moments, but she sighed in relief and nodded to express her assent.

"Alright then, follow me."

She stood up and followed the surgeon, thinking again about the fateful day.

**XOXOXOXOXXOOXXOXO**

"_Don't think bad of me Grandpa, but I don't think I'll ever do your job."_

"_Oh I can't blame you, Vesper. But I like my job, and if they think I'm going to accept their retirement offer without taking part in the Congress this year, this means they're nothing but a bunch of idiots," Jacob Tillman said, anger appearing in his voice._

_Vesper looked up in exasperation. Sometimes her grandfather could really be…stubborn. Something that people who knew her would add to describe her as well._

"_Maybe you should have accepted their offer." She said, not realizing she had talked aloud._

"_Really ? And then what? Stay at the house, reading all the day and having lunch and dinner at the same time every day? I may be old, but I still think I'm not senile, and nobody will trap me in this routine."_

_This time, Vesper smiled. "Great! I'm feeling better now. For a moment I thought you would agree with me… as you always do." This was both to mock him and to remind him of his undying love for her. She was really proud of her grandfather._

"_You'll stay in the public area, alright?" Tillman asked her, not answering her little mockery._

"_Okay! Don't worry about me, Grandpa! I want to hear your speech, so don't make me wait." And with that, she left the room._

_Tillman smiled at his granddaughter's eagerness and read his notes for his speech one more time._

**[…]**

_It happened during the speech. So fast that Vesper thought she had dreamed. _

_One moment, her grandfather was talking about the HHS and the progress of USAMRIID, the next she heard a loud bang and right after, her grandfather was clutching his stomach, blood escaping from the wound and dripping on the ground. She heard someone yell, and realized a moment later with horror that it was her. _

_People were rushing towards her grandfather, men in black were barking orders through their phone and suddenly she couldn't feel her legs anymore. She saw one man, usually near her grandfather to protect him, running towards her, screaming her name and then, everything went black and she collapsed._

**XOXOXOXOXOOXXOXO**

The young surgeon stopped in front of a door. He turned around to face her. "He's inside, and I don't think he has woken yet. One of my colleagues will come later to check upon him. If you need anything, please ask one of the nurses." He didn't wait for her answer and left quietly.

Vesper opened the door and saw her grandfather, still under the effects of the anesthesia, sleeping and snoring slightly. The monitors were beeping reassuringly, and she felt her heart slow down a bit.

_How come, since my father is working here and grandpa came here several times to be operated, that I don't come here more often? _She thought, watching her grandfather sleep. She knew several doctors of the hospital, mostly because her father were close to them and were working with them, but she had never been friends with any of them.

She stayed on the chair near her grandfather, and soon she fell asleep next to him.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"…_ey… Hey… sper…ake up…Vesper…wake up…!"_

_Vesper opened her eyes slowly and saw a ceiling, the ceiling of the room where they were having the Congress meeting. She was laying on… a bed? "Wh-where…where am I?" She asked slowly, her voice nothing more than a whisper._

_Her head was hurting. Probably a headache. _

_Someone took her hand and she felt a pressure on her wrist. Then the high-pitched voice of a woman was heard: "Dr. Torres, she's conscious. Her heart is beating normally. But maybe she has a concussion, you should come and see."_

"_Thanks Emma," Vesper heard, and though she was sure she knew the voice of the first woman, she couldn't add a face to the name she had heard, "I'm coming in two seconds. Could you call Darnell? I'm sure he'll be relieved to hear that!"_

"_Okay!"_

_Her father… why did they talk about her father? How did they know her father? Emma… As in Emma Wilson…? Could she be… her father's best friend…? _

"_Alright, what do we have here? Hmm… so, Vesper Sellers… Alright girl, stay with me and show me your head."_

_She felt strong hands gently lift her head and carefully palpating it._

"_Hmm, you've banged your head on the ground but I don't think there will be any concussion. The worst will be a giant headache, but that's all. How do you feel?"_

_Vesper had felt her thoughts becoming clearer and clearer, and she sat on the stretcher._

"_I'm fine, but how did I…" Then she remembered suddenly what happened, the gunshot, the panic, and she began to shake. "I…No…! My grandfather! He was… where is he? How is he? Grandpa, Grandpa!" She was absolutely mad with fear. She felt the hands of the female doctor on her shoulders, trying to comfort her and to calm her down._

"_Whoa, whoa, hey girl! Calm down, he's not here, we've brought him to the hospital."_

"_Why? Where was he shot? He's not dead, is he?"She knew she was going to cry any moment now, but she couldn't help it. Her grandfather…_

"_He isn't dead, but his wound is serious. Our top surgeon is gonna operate him right now. This guy's the best, and he has already operated on your grandfather, so there is nothing to be afraid of. I'm sure your grandfather will be fine."_

_The tears were rolling down Vesper's cheeks. She sobbed quietly and said, "I-I… I wanna see h-him…!"_

_The female doctor looked at her with her big green eyes, then she wiped her tears slightly. "You have to wait here for your father. I think Emma called him."_

_Vesper shook her head, "No. I'm 20 years old, I can take care of myself."_

"_Sorry, but no. I'm sure your father will bring you to the hospital." With that, the doctor left her on the stretcher and went to see another person._

**XOXOXOXOXOOXOOX**

"…_ey… Yo…kid…ake up…Kiiid…wake up…!"_

Vesper slowly opened her eyes. A man was standing in front of her, probably in his 40s, with a brown-green mass of hair tied up in a sloppy ponytail and a pair of amber eyes. He had a cigarette in his mouth and he was smirking at her. He was also wearing a lab coat, meaning that he was probably a doctor.

"And you are…?" She asked, anger filling her voice.

His smirk widened and he answered her with a sarcastic tone of voice: "Dr. Gabriel Cunningham, diagnostician. I'm in charge of the old geezer here, who's also your grandfather it seems. I wonder why I'm ALWAYS the one in charge of this guy. Man, you could have thought he could choose another doctor…!"

Vesper stood up; the man was clearly irritating her with his talk. However, somewhere in her mind, she remembered that her grandfather had sometimes told her about him. There was always exasperation in his voice, but she could also detect something close to amusement whenever he was speaking about the "Dr. Gabriel Cunningham". "Well, get straight to the point! How is he?" She asked, crossing her arms and glowering at him.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, little girl! It's bad to get angry over nothing. If you keep going that way, you'll end up with the same disease he had several years ago, and then you'll come to ME to cure you."

_Does this guy take anything seriously or is he an absolute moron?_ She wondered, looking at her grandfather who was still sleeping.

The male doctor was still smirking at her, but soon he began checking the monitors around the bed. Vesper rubbed her temples to clarify her thoughts. She let him finish what he was doing before talking again. When he was done, he turned back to face her.

"So," she asked again, "how is he?"

For once, the doctor answered seriously: "He's fine, he'll wake up soon, and, of course, he'll recover perfectly. After all, our surgeon is the best. I'll need to examine him again just to be safe, in a week or so, but there's nothing to be afraid of."

Vesper sighed in relief. That was what the surgeon had said, but it was always nice to hear two doctors saying the same thing.

"If I may ask you, do you know why he was shot?" Vesper raised an eyebrow at the doctor's question, "I mean, this guy is an insufferable moron, but he's got a good and big heart, and I can't see any reason someone could want him dead."

Vesper thought about it for a moment: "Well, all I know is that some people wanted him to retire from his position at the HHS. He had received an offer, but he told me that he had refused it."

Dr. Cunningham was lost in his thoughts for a moment. "Hmm… Well, that doesn't explain everything, but maybe this has something to do with it. Thanks, I'll tell that to the police."

"The police?"

"Yeah, they arrived here right after you did. I'll tell them what you told me so that they leave you in peace."

"Wh…? Well, hmm, thanks… I guess?"

The man smiled at her, "You're welcome. You can stay here if you want. I'll go tell your father that you're both okay."

He was opening the door when Vesper told him, "I'll tell my grandfather that you took care of him and that you were worried about him. I'm sure he'll be very happy to hear it. You know you're like a son to him right?"

Her words managed to surprise him, but he raised his eyebrows and shrugged as if it wasn't important. "Yeah, yeah I heard you. Then tell him that he's just like MY old man." Vesper smiled, "and I haven't talked or seen my old man for something like 20 years." And with that he left, while Vesper sighed in exasperation.

"No wonder why Grandpa likes him," She said aloud with a sarcastic tone, sitting on the chair.

"You wouldn't say that if you had seen us when we first met. I wanted to kill him with my own hands."

Vesper looked at her awaking grandfather. He was a bit paler than usual, but he seemed to be fine. She wasn't even surprised to see him up. "This guy really knows how to infuriate people."

Her grandfather said nothing.

"How do you feel?"

Tillman smiled sadly, "That should be my question. Vesper… I'm very sorry to have put your life in danger. If you knew how guilty I feel…!"

Vesper raised a hand to interrupt him. "'How guilty you feel?'" She repeated. "It's not your fault, you didn't decide to be shot. If there's anyone to blame it should be that blasted shooter and the guys who gave him that job! Please don't feel guilty Grandpa, that's not your fault!"

"Yes… But I asked you to come to that conference and…"

"STOP! I'm fine now aren't I? You asked me if I was sure and I told you yes. See? So it's not your fault."

Tillman frowned, "Vesper, you're behaving like a child."

"No, YOU'RE behaving like a child, Grandpa. It's not my fault and it's not your fault. You know what this guy, Dr. Cunningham, told me?"

Tillman was surprised, "I…No. What did he say?"

"He told me that you had a big and good heart, and that he was amazed at your job and at what you did for the United States as the secretary of the HHS. He said no one could have done such good job, no one else but you."

"He really said all of that?" Her grandfather asked, surprise written all over his face. Vesper sat on the bed and smiled.

"Well, huh… No, just the beginning in fact but… argh… Look, what I mean is that you didn't fail to protect me. There was no failure Grandpa. You always did the best for me, and I'm grateful for that. Please, remember that I'm 20 years old now, I'm not a child anymore and I can take care of myself. I'm very proud of you and I'll always be. Remember that, okay?"

For a moment, the young woman and her grandfather looked at each other without talking. Vesper saw a few tears in her grandfather's eyes and she had to restrain hers as well.

After a few minutes, he opened his arms hesitatingly, as if she could refuse his invitation, and Vesper hugged her grandfather tightly, still afraid maybe that he could disappear.

"I've always been and I will always be proud of you, my dear child…" Vesper heard him say, and with a smile she promised him inwardly that she would always do the best so that he could always have at least a reason to the eyes of other people to be proud of her.

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it! :) A little review would be nice! :)<strong>

**See you guys! :D**


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